Beyond Press Releases: How to Dig up Science Stories

Noting that all science journalists receive press releases from research centres, journals, and other organisations seeking to distribute their science news, this resource provides tips for making the most of - and going beyond - press releases. For example: "A good press release will point you to a newsworthy development, but you should investigate further, ask more questions, check the facts, use related research to put the story in context and, if possible, add a local perspective. If you take text directly from a press release you should cite it as such." A specific illustration is provided here. The University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, issued a press release on a publication in Science. "John Yeld, science writer at The Cape Argus, reworked it into a compelling story", while a news story in The Times "seems to be lifted directly from the press release".

The author, Marina Joubert, stresses that science journalists should make time to build relationships with researchers - not just to complete one particular story, but for the purpose of creating a network of scientists and press officers to get new leads and have someone to turn to when needing to delve deeper into the facts. One strategy suggested here for beginning to forge connections is to follow scientists who are active bloggers (and tweeters); this can be a means of learning about the latest research in their fields - and how others are responding - as well as to communicate with them so as to report science as it happens (allowing the journalist to cover the process and challenges, rather than just final outcomes). Joubert also suggests contacting local press officers and telling them you're keen to attend media events, open days, and conferences. "Over time, you should build up your own list of trusted, media-friendly scientists that you can contact. Try to expand this list all the time, so that you don't quote the same experts over and over."

The next section of this resource provides strategies for how science journalists can choose to use research papers as a source for science news and newsworthy stories. Joubert suggests asking relevant experts to recommend journals, then finding out whether these offer services to journalists, such as email alerts or press releases. She urges that journalists not rely on abstracts of papers, which are almost always free to read; instead, it is important to read the entire paper. "Full papers are often available to journalists, and if not, scientists will often provide proofs. There are lots of resources for finding open access papers, such as the Open Science Directory, the Directory of Open Access Journals, the Open Directory Project and Pubmed Central." Yet also: "[P]ublication is sometimes only the beginning of a science story. Contact the scientist for follow-up developments and consider tracking whether other scientists cite the paper over time."

Joubert discusses the importance of attending conferences - both big and smaller meetings - providing suggestions such as attending coffee and lunch breaks so as to take advantage of possible opportunities to speak face to face with researchers who may be in the country only briefly.

She concludes with a focus on credibility: "Always check facts, whether you get them from press releases, newsletters, academic papers or policy documents. And reference them where possible to ensure transparency. Make it possible for your readers, listeners and viewers to find the primary source for verification and more information."